The present invention relates to a laminar body comprising a substrate and, applied thereto on one or both sides, at least one layer containing an enamel, wherein the layer contains at least one phosphor. Such a laminar body has phosphorescent properties. The present invention also relates to a process for producing the above-defined laminar body, to its use for giving phosphorescent properties to an article provided therewith and to these articles themselves.
The laminar body of the invention can be used wherever a situation dangerous to people can arise as a result of sudden failure of general lighting. This can be achieved in the form of markings and safety signs in the context of a safety guidance system possessing persistent phosphorescence in order to lead persons safely along a prescribed escape route to an exit or to a safe area.
Processes for producing steel enamel having persistent phosphorescence are known. Steel enamels having persistent phosphorescence have hitherto been produced using phosphors based on zinc sulphides.
In order to be able to achieve certain minimum phosphorescence values, a relatively thick phosphor-containing enamel coating had to be chosen. These processes allow no technical possibility of enameling thin, flexible and thus more or less universally usable substrates, e.g. foils based on aluminum or aluminum alloys.
An attempt to lower the thicknesses of the enamel layer by use of laminated films led only to laminar bodies which are partly combustible or thermally decomposable. Such laminar bodies having persistent phosphorescence display good phosphorescence values but have the decisive disadvantage of thermal decomposability. This thermal decomposition of plastics is always associated with the liberation of irritating and toxic gases and therefore makes such laminar bodies unusable for a series of applications.
It was therefore an object of the present invention to produce laminar bodies which have good phosphorescence properties, are preferably not combustible and do not liberate any irritating or toxic gases under the action of heat. Furthermore, these laminar bodies should be able to be produced in any configuration by screen printing or else by other printing processes.
In addition, the laminar bodies should be inexpensive to produce, be usable and be replaceable without problems.
These and further objects are achieved by the laminar body of the invention.
The present invention accordingly provides a laminar body comprising a substrate which preferably contains aluminum or an aluminum alloy and, applied thereto on one or both sides, at least one layer containing an enamel, characterized in that the enamel layer or layers contains/contain a phosphor.
If complete noncombustibility in use is necessary, the laminar body of the invention can be constructed so as to be free of plastics.
As substrate in the laminar body of the invention, it is possible to use any substrates which can be enameled, in particular those based on metals, e.g. ferrous materials, materials containing aluminum or an aluminum alloy, copper-, silver-, gold- and titanium-containing materials. Preference is given to using a substrate which contains aluminiium or an aluminum alloy.
Although the thickness and structure of the substrate are subject to no particular restrictions, preference is given to using perforated metal sheets having a thickness of from about 0.2 to about 2.5 mm, more preferably from about 0.5 to about 2.0 mm and in particular from about 0.5 to about 1.5 mm, or foils having a thickness of from about 50 to about 500 xcexcm, more preferably from about 100 to about 400 xcexcm and in particular from about 200 to about 300 xcexcm. There is virtually no restriction in respect of the free perforation area of the perforated metal sheets, but preference is given to using perforated metal sheets having a free perforation area of from about 20 to about 45%.
For the purposes of the present invention, it is in principle possible to use as substrate all known aluminum alloys in which the most important alloying constituents are, for example, copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese and zinc and also mixtures of two or more thereof and, in smaller amounts, nickel, cobalt, chromium, vanadium, titanium, lead, tin, cadmium, bismuth, zirconium and silver and also mixtures of two or more thereof.
In addition, the laminar body of the invention comprises a layer which contains an enamel and is applied to either one or both sides of the above-defined substrate.
For the purposes of the present application, the term xe2x80x9cenamelxe2x80x9d corresponds to the definition given in xe2x80x9cEmail und Emailliertechnikxe2x80x9d, Petzold/Pxc3x6schmann, Deutscher Verlag fair Grundstoffindustrie, Leipzig/Stuttgart, 2nd revised edition 1992, page 15. Accordingly, enamel is a preferably vitreous, solid material formed by melting or fritting and having an inorganic, mainly oxidic-siliceous composition which is to be melted or has been melted in one or more layers, sometimes together with additives, onto metal workpieces.
The enamel used according to the invention can be produced from an enamel frit which contains heavy metals or is free of heavy metals.
Here, the term xe2x80x9cfree of heavy metalsxe2x80x9d means that the enamel frit used is completely or essentially free of metals which have an atomic number greater than the atomic number of calcium.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the substrate contains aluminum or an aluminum alloy, enameling is carried out using an aluminum enamel. With regard to this, the following needs to be noted. The low melting point of aluminum and its alloys demands enamels which can be fired at from about 520xc2x0 C. to 560xc2x0 C. This corresponds to a softening temperature of about 450xc2x0 C. Accordingly, the starting materials employed in this embodiment are enamel frits which have the abovementioned properties.
This can be achieved using, for example, glasses having a high content of Li2O, BaO and V2O5. Eutectics containing fluoride or enamels based on phosphate also meet the temperature requirement. Although the abovementioned conditions in respect of the softening point can be achieved by addition of these constituents, preference is given to adding further constituents to increase the chemical resistance of the resulting enamel. Thus, for example, good values for the resistance of the resulting enamel to aggressive media can be achieved by changing the ratios of Li2O and TiO2 and the contents of alkaline earth metal and ZnO. Details on this subject may be found in Migonadziev, A. S., Steklo i keramika (1966), 12, p. 15.
Aluminum enamels can be produced in all colours and also in black and white. In the case of the white enamels, opacifiers such as TiO2 are added and an appropriately high ratio of Li2O to TiO2, i.e. about 1:1.5-2, then has to be selected. Coloured aluminum enamels can be produced in many shades.
By way of example, the composition of an enamel which is very useful for the purposes of the invention will once more be described here:
100 parts of frit
15 parts of phosphorescent pigment
4 parts of boric acid
2 parts of KOH
1 part of water glass
45 parts of water
This mixture is milled in a porcelain mill to give a slip having a defined particle fineness of, for example, from 0.1 to 0.5 by the Bayer method and a specific gravity of, for example, from 1.5 to 2.0 g/cm3, preferably from 1.7 to 1.8 g/cm3.
This slip is usually applied to the part to be enameled by a spraying method.
Further details of such aluminum enamels or the enameling of substrates containing aluminum or aluminum alloys may be found, for example, in a review article xe2x80x9cMitteilungen des Vereins Deutscher Emailfachleute e.V.xe2x80x9d, volume 43, 1995 (No. 5), p. 56 ff.
The thickness of the enamel layer or layers is preferably 400 xcexcm or less, more preferably about 300 xcexcm or less and in particular about 200 xcexcm or less, with the lower limit of the thickness of the enamel being about 30 xcexcm.
In a further, preferred embodiment, a reflective layer of a white or light-coloured enamel having a reflectance of at least about 78%, more preferably at least about 82%, is first applied on one or both sides and at least one further enamel layer is then applied.
Furthermore, a reflective layer can also be produced directly on the substrate, for example by electric oxidation and/or by embedding of inorganic pigments such as TiO2.
Of course, the enamel containing a phosphor can also be applied directly to the substrate without using a reflective layer.
If more than one layer containing an enamel is applied to one or both sides, it is advantageous, particularly for economic reasons, for only the outer layer containing an enamel to contain a phosphor.
Phosphors which can be used for the purposes of the present invention are in principle all known inorganic phosphors.
Examples which may be mentioned are:
Phosphors as are described, for example, in Ullmanns Encyklopxc3xa4die der Technischen Chemie, 4th edition, volume 16, p. 179 ff (1975), e.g. those based on sulphides, e.g. CaS:Bi, CaSrS:Bi, ZnS:Cu and ZnCdS:Cu;
phosphors based on alkaline earth metal aluminates, e.g. europium- or lead-activated alkaline earth metal aluminates, where the alkaline earth metal is strontium or a mixture of strontium and calcium, as described, for example, in EP-A-0 094 132 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,699 (Sr aluminate/europium), likewise europium-activated alkaline earth metal aluminates containing barium and strontium as alkaline earth metals, as described in DE-A-1 811 732;
phosphors comprising a matrix of the formula M1xe2x88x92x,Al2O4xe2x88x92x, where M is at least one metal selected from among Ca, Sr and Ba and x is a non-zero integer and the matrix contains Eu as activator and, as coactivator, at least one of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Th, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Mn, Sn and Bi, as described in EP-A-0 710 709;
phosphors comprising a composition MOxcx9ca(Al1xe2x88x92bBb)2O3:cR, where 0.5xe2x89xa6axe2x89xa610.0, 0.0001xe2x89xa6bxe2x89xa60.5 and 0.0001xe2x89xa6cxe2x89xa60.2, MO is at least one divalent metal oxide selected from among MgO, CaO, SrO and ZnO, and R is Eu and at least one additional rare earth element, as described in DE-A 195 21 119;
alkaline earth metal aluminates doped with rare earth metals, as described in EP-A-0 710 709 and DE-A 195 21 119;
phosphors comprising a matrix of the formula MAl2O4, where M is calcium, strontium or barium and the matrix contains europium as activator and, as coactivator, at least one of lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, tin and bismuth, as described in EP-B-0 622 440;
europium-activated ternary metal oxides containing SrO or BaO or mixtures thereof, Al2O3 or a mixture of Al2O3 and Ga2O3 and ZnO or MgO, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,408;
and phosphors containing at least one metal oxide selected from among MgO, CaO, SrO and ZnO, and also, as activator, Eu2+and at least one additional rare earth element selected from among Pr, Nd, Dy and Tm, preferably Dy, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,303.
Preference is given to using phosphors based on an alkaline earth metal aluminate, in particular the phosphors described in EP-B-0 622 440, EP-A 0 710 709, DE-A 195 21 119 and U.S. Pat. No. 5 376 303.
The amount of phosphor used is not restricted in any particular way, but for economic reasons is generally up to about 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the laminar body. The lower limit for the amount of phosphor is determined, in particular, by the desired phosphorescent intensity and can accordingly be varied within wide ranges depending on the application.
The present invention also provides a process for producing the above-described laminar body, which process comprises the following steps: application of at least one layer containing an enamel to one or both sides of a substrate and firing the applied layer or layers containing an enamel, characterized in that this layer or layers contains/contain at least one phosphor.
The application and firing of the enamel is carried out by conventional methods known from the prior art. Thus, the enamel is applied in the form of an aqueous suspension (enamel slip) or as fine powder to the substrate, for example a generally degreased and passivated foil of aluminum or aluminum alloy, with the aid of an application apparatus, e.g. a spray gun, and is subsequently fired at temperatures of from about 500 to about 600xc2x0 C. When using a plurality of enamel layers, these are generally applied in succession and fired together.
The laminar body of the invention can then at any time be applied to a suitable support material, preferably a noncombustible support material, e.g. a metal plate, by adhesive bonding or welding, or else be applied directly to the article to be marked, likewise by adhesive bonding or mechanical fastening, e.g. riveting, clamping or screwing.
In a further, preferred embodiment, the layer containing an enamel and at least one phosphor can be applied by means of screen printing or other printing processes, transfers, templates, spraying with templates or manual inscription.
In addition, the present invention also provides for the use of a laminar body as described above or a laminar body produced as defined above to give an article phosphorescent properties, and also provides phosphorescent articles characterized in that they are provided with such a laminar body.
Examples of articles which are preferably provided in the context of the present invention with the laminar body of the invention are measuring instruments, clockfaces, safety signs, keys, safety railings, helmets, any type of markings such as ones in or on lifts or as traffic signs, electric switches, writing instruments, toys or household appliances and sports equipment.
Furthermore, the present invention in its most general form provides for the use of a phosphor to provide a laminar body comprising a substrate and, applied thereto on one or both sides, at least one layer containing an enamel with phosphorescent properties.